US 11,844,098 B2
Methods and apparatus for managing downlink channels and/or bandwidth in wireless sytems
Volkan Sevindik, Parker, CO (US); and Haider Syed, Parker, CO (US)
Assigned to Charter Communications Operating, LLC, St. Louis, MO (US)
Filed by Charter Communications Operating, LLC, St. Louis, MO (US)
Filed on Jul. 25, 2020, as Appl. No. 16/938,960.
Prior Publication US 2022/0030594 A1, Jan. 27, 2022
Int. Cl. H04W 72/52 (2023.01); H04W 28/02 (2009.01); H04W 72/23 (2023.01); H04W 84/12 (2009.01)
CPC H04W 72/52 (2023.01) [H04W 28/0252 (2013.01); H04W 72/23 (2023.01); H04W 84/12 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A wireless communications method comprising:
monitoring, by a wireless base station, a downlink channel utilization rate of data transmissions from the wireless base station to a first customer premises equipment (CPE) device on a downlink shared channel to detect a first condition;
upon detecting, by the wireless base station, that the first condition exists, switching by the wireless base station from operating in a first wireless base station mode of operation to operating in a second wireless base station mode of operation, said switching from operating in a first wireless base station mode of operation to operating in a second wireless base station mode of operation including switching from using a downlink control channel for transmitting downlink control information to the first customer premises equipment device to using the downlink control channel for transmitting user data;
wherein said detecting, by the wireless base station, that the first condition exists includes determining that the downlink channel utilization rate of data transmissions from the wireless base station to the first CPE device exceeds a first threshold value for a predetermined continuous time interval;
wherein said downlink shared channel is a physical downlink shared channel used for communicating data from the wireless base station to a plurality of customer premises equipment devices to which the wireless base station is providing services, said first customer premises equipment device being one of said plurality of customer premises equipment devices;
wherein said downlink control channel is a physical downlink control channel used for communicating customer premises equipment downlink control information from the wireless base station to the plurality of customer premises equipment devices when said first wireless base station is operating in the first wireless base station mode of operation with respect to the plurality of customer premises equipment devices, said physical downlink control channel being a separate physical channel from the physical downlink shared channel; and
wherein said customer premises equipment downlink control information includes a set of customer premises equipment device data location assignments, each customer premises equipment device data location assignment providing location information for a different customer premises equipment device that identifies where in the physical downlink shared channel data communicated from the wireless base station to that particular customer premises equipment device is located.